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<p>Disclosure: I requested a review copy of this book by the author after reading a short blurb on it.<br /><br /> Once in a while a reader gets to be one of the first to discover a new writer. I just finished Appalachian Justice by Melinda Clayton, and I'm still reeling from the experience. For me a good novel is all about the characters and Clayton has created a main character I will never forget.<br /><br /> Set in the hills of West Virginia in a small mining town, Appalachian Justice brings to life characters who are as real as anyone I've ever known. I feel like I know and love Billy May the main character, a woman of such depth that I'm sad I have to leave her life now that the book is finished.<br /><br /> Sure a good story is important, and Clayton knows how to keep the tension taunt, but what's a great story without characters you can love and cheer for, and characters you hate with equal passion? Using her work as a psychotherapist, Clayton delves into the lives of characters until they are ready to spring from the pages of her novel fully formed to walk and talk in the real world.<br /><br /> I feel as though I've just discovered Jodi Picoult, or John Grisham, two of my favorite authors for character development. I'm going to recommend this book to all my reading friends, and I'm sure they'll thank me for it. The only way this book could be better is if it had a readers guide at the end, because this is the sort of book you could discuss endlessly because of the both the storyline and the wonderful characters.<br /><br /> I'll be looking forward to the next book by Melinda Clayton, a rising star in the literary world. Robin Landry, Top 500 Reviewer, Vine Voice</p>